move over bruce lee...

my whole life my pa has always preached about what he believes is "important" in life - "the 3 M's": math, music, & martial arts. i had actually forgotten about it until i had kids of my own. as soon as they were born he'd remind me, "the 3 M's wena, the 3 M's!"

when g turned 5 i felt it was a decent age to go ahead & let him try the 3rd "M". r & i debated between jiu jitsu, judo & karate, but finally ended up choosing kung fu. the deciding factor for me? bruce lee, of course! we wanted to choose a martial art that was, in my opinion, "traditional". if he gets older & wants to learn all the "new school" styles, he'll have that option. but until that day comes, here's to my little white belt!

happy new EVERYTHING!

2010

here we come

FIVE

1 2 3
4
i close my eyes & he is
at 12:06 a.m. on september 6, 2004
after 15 hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, and an emergency c-section, my first born graced this earth and changed my life FOR GOOD. how time just FLEW! i started the day like i always do on my babies birthdays...cuddled him in my arms & reminisced about the day he was born, with every last detail. i love how he stared at me in awe.

this year was especially moving for me, since 5 years old is a critical age. before he woke up, in the early morning light, i stared at his sweet little face, remembering all we've been through together and -- i started bawling! we spent his big day in his favorite place, disneyland.

he has always had such a sweet face i can't believe there was a time in my life when i actually did not want children. i firmly believe i'm one of those women who would have been just fine had i chosen not to have any. but when i look at pictures like these, i thank all that is right & good for the blessings of my sweet, sweet gavin :)

happy, happy birthday to my favorite boy!

amused

inspired by the arrival of the wicked cast in san diego, i've been listening to a lot of kristin chenoweth. if you haven't already heard it, check out her version of "taylor the latte boy". here's a sample.

i promise you, if you aren't smiling, you will be when you finish listening to this song! thanks for the introduction d!

date night

friday, week 2

part of being the mama of a 3 & 4 year old is balancing - the kids, work, life, love (pretty much in that order).

huh, what's love? i know, i know...probably the most important of all. r & i went out for a much needed date night. guess where we went? i told him he was jealous because i had gone the night before. the truth is, bleu boheme was closed and we couldn't wait an hour, so we walked a block to grab a quick bite. yesterday i had the regular burger (truth be told, i actually prefer in-n-out's beef burger to this one, sorry fans.) so today i decided to try the veggie - YUM! it's one of the best veggie burgers i've ever had! had to have dessert of course!
and date night wouldn't be complete without a movie. this is the first "grown up" movie we've seen in a very long time. it was so funny - we got a lot of much needed laughs. we promised to do this more often...maybe next week :)

eat, read, then eat some more!

thursday, week 2

this...is how i began my day (i'm trying to be good!)

after that classes i SO needed this coffee! *yes, i drink it with a straw (gotta save the teeth!)
i was now starving & lees recommended i check this place out. i've lived in bonita for over 20 years and drive past this place almost daily. i've never tried it since i'm not a big fan of oysters, but i always trust her judgment when it comes to food. i'm so glad i did - YUM! the grilled fish tacos were the best, and cheap to boot! the fish tacos were 99 cents and the others were not much more. we tried the marlin taco, shrimp taco & shrimp ceviche - all were yummy! this is going to be a new joint for us! thanks for the tip, lees ;)
and now we're off! i'm ashamed to even admit it, but i've never taken the kids to the public library. we usually just hit up the bookstores, but i figured it was time.

e for emma! they were mesmerized by the kid-friendly computer

our check-out stash

i had plans for the evening, so while i went out, the kids & r went to visit hayden

the inner sanctum (minus lees, jay, thel)

here is the background story:

a few years ago when myspace was new, an old friend from high school, jeff trinidad, found me and we reconnected. he & i were best buds and i was grateful for technology bringing him back into my life. we emailed each other back and forth and planned to get together for lunch to catch up "one of these days". you know how it goes...life happens and "next week" turned into next month, and before we knew it we were out of touch again.

...i never got a chance to have that lunch with jeff. i got a call from a friend letting me know he passed away from sarcoma. i didn't even know he was sick. he was diagnosed, had very little time left, and died within a few months. i remember at his viewing my bff rizzy handed me tissue after tissue. i couldn't stop crying. part of my crying was the guilt i felt for losing touch with him (again). i didn't even want to see him, i wanted to remember him the way he was back in high school: young, full of life, alive. r took my hand and told me i didn't have to, but it might make me feel better if i said goodbye. i did end up saying goodbye to my dear friend, but with a promise - that i would never let it happen again: i would treat my friendships as one of the most important details of my life, and if i did ever reconnect with an old friend i would stay in touch. that's what jeff taught me; life is too short & it is never too late to reconnect.

...which brings me back to the present. once again, thanks to facebook (or crackbook, as i call it) i found old junior high friends. i suggested to two of them (daryle & marie) that we meet for dinner. not only did we get together, we extended the circle to other friends. we now have a monthly dinner to catch up, break bread, and reinforce those bonds of friendship that were once (and still are) strong and true. {in my heart, this is how i remember and honor jeff.} this month, it was my idea to check out this place:

i'd heard so much about it!

we arrived a little early, so before marie got there we had a little appetizer :)

yum! we had a great time and marie got to share some great news! :)

marie was tired & had to wind down, but daryle, adriel & i were a little restless. we decided to grab (more) dessert...

now do you see why i have to do yoga in the morning! ;)

at the playground

wednesday, week 2

after yoga (yes! i made the 6:30 am class!) and rehab, we took the kids to park to spend the afternoon. monica, mathias & sebs joined us.

even though my finger is in it, i love this shot

hayden came to play, too. she's getting so big!

this is absolutely my favorite shot of the day! i can't wait to scrap it!

...at the end of the day nette gave me a call, she was at vons and needed a "mama minute". i was happy to oblige...(lees - why, oh why are you not on the same schedule as us?!)

p.s. those are nette's homemade cupcakes - yum!